A federal grand jury today charged Rep. Ben Arredondo with bribery, fraud, attempted extortion and false statements for allegedly taking thousands of dollars in game tickets and other perks in exchange for brokering property deals in Tempe.

Former Fiesta Bowl CEO John Junker will have a few more weeks of freedom, as a judge postponed his Thursday sentencing.
Junker pleaded guilty in February and March in state and federal courts to crimes in connection with a scheme in which the Fiesta Bowl illegally contributed to political campaigns. He is facing a prison sentence of up to 2.5 years.

A year after a scandal involving gifts and out-of-state trips to sporting events rocked the state Capitol, no legislation has advanced to tackle the subject and a Phoenix Democrat said he believes his colleagues are deliberately avoiding it.

It's been a year since the Fiesta Bowl scandal embarrassed legislators, but at least some Arizona lawmakers still like their perks.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have again offered free tickets to legislators for the baseball team's first game of the season, and a team executive said Tuesday that at least 40 of the 90 senators and representatives have accepted so far.